The draft treaty (PDF) is the final release born from the 11th and the last round of discussions took place over 10 days in Japan last month.

Canadian law professor and ACTA expert, Michael Geist, said the ACTA draft was a "far cry" from earlier proposals.

"The draft released is a far cry from that proposal, with the intermediary liability provisions largely removed and the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) digital lock provisions much closer to the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) internet treaty mode," Geist wrote on his blog.

"Each party shall promote cooperation, where appropriate, among the competent authorities responsible for enforcement of intellectual property rights ... cooperation shall be conducted consistent with relevant international agreements as well as subject to the domestic laws, policies, resource allocation and law enforcement priorities of the parties," the text read.

But despite the treaty make-over, Pirate Party president Rodney Serkowski attacked the ACTA negotiation process as undemocratic.

"The text has shifted dramatically from the initial documents revealed by Wikileaks when this secretive treaty was first exposed. In some respects it is a slightly better document than previous leaked drafts, with some sections being watered down; however, at first glance we don't perceive this draft as being any more benign," he said.

Federal Trade Minister Craig Emerson said that Australia was aiming to push its "strong" intellectual property laws to other nations through the agreement.

"[The] ACTA reflects these laws and standards, which we now want to see adopted by other countries," Emerson said in a statement.

"ACTA is important because we are concerned at the scale and growth of the global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods."

A treaty will only be ratified after public and parliamentary scrutiny, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It is expected to be signed within weeks by countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and the European Union.

The ACTA negotiations follow a new US bill that will essentially prevent users across the world from accessing websites banned under the nation's law by forcing the withdrawal of domain registrations.

Darren Pauli has been writing about technology for almost five years, he covers a gamut of news with a special focus on security, keeping readers informed about the world of cyber criminals and the safety measures needed to thwart them.